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Career Exploration

Physician Assistants

Also called: Certified Physician Assistant (PA-C), Family Practice Physician Assistant, Physician Assistant (PA), Physician's Assistant

What they do:

Provide healthcare services typically performed by a physician, under the supervision of a physician. Conduct complete physicals, provide treatment, and counsel patients. May, in some cases, prescribe medication. Must graduate from an accredited educational program for physician assistants.

On the job, you would:
  • Make tentative diagnoses and decisions about management and treatment of patients.
  • Interpret diagnostic test results for deviations from normal.
  • Prescribe therapy or medication with physician approval.
On the job, you'll need:

Health

  • medicine and dentistry
  • therapy and counseling

Math and Science

  • biology
  • psychology

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Business

  • customer service

Basic Skills

  • reading work related information
  • thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem

Problem Solving

  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

People and Technology Systems

  • thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it

Verbal

  • listen and understand what people say
  • communicate by speaking

Ideas and Logic

  • make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
  • notice when problems happen

Visual Understanding

  • see hidden patterns
  • quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things

Social

People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking.

  • Attention to Detail
  • Concern for Others
  • Integrity
  • Dependability
  • Cooperation
  • Stress Tolerance

Medical software

  • eClinicalWorks EHR software
  • Epic Systems

Spreadsheet software

  • Microsoft Excel

Electronic mail software

  • Microsoft Outlook

Video courtesy of CareerOneStop.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for this position is Bright.

New job opportunities are very likely in the future. This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Median Annual Salary: $126,010

Education

Master's degree or professional degree is usually needed.